BRAD KESELOWSKI TO JOIN PENSKE RACING NASCAR LINEUP

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Penske Racing
Moderators: Tim Cindric and Brad Keselowski
September 1, 2009

We are fortunate to have Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing, and Brad Keselowski on the phone today to answer your questions.

I will now turn it over to Tim, to make an opening statement. And we will then open it up to questions. Tim?

TIM CINDRIC, PRESIDENT, PENSKE RACING: First of all, I would like to say thanks for joining us here today. I realize this on a bit of short notice. But, obviously, today, we announced that Brad Keselowski’s coming to drive for Penske Racing.

We plan to run obviously in 2010 a full Cup Season and full Nationwide Season with Brad. So we’re excited to bring him onboard. Obviously, he’s got a lot of credentials behind him. We’ve spent some time you know we’ve talked about it in the press, that, yes, he’s somebody that we’ve known and talked to over the past year or what have you. And we’re excited today to finally announce the fact he’s coming onboard for next year.
So, with that, I’ll let Brad open up with a few comments of his own. And then, obviously, we’ll open it to questions for everyone.

BRAD KESELOWSKI: Yes, thanks again, everyone, for coming. I appreciate everyone’s patience in the media. I know that there is a lot of chat and talk about all that. And we have had to kind of put off some of you, and I apologize for all that. But we’re here now to get to you and get everything cleared up for you and we appreciate everyone that came out for our phone call today.
I would like to start off by saying that, quite frankly, this was the hardest decision that I’ve ever had to make in my life. But I woke up this morning feeling 100 percent certain that I made the right one.

I went through a lot of stages to make this decision. I talked to a lot of different people as far as teams, friends, and family are concerned. And it was clear to me that this is the direction in which I want to head.

With respect to those that were involved in those conversations, some of that is still private, and I wish for it to remain private. But I will say that one of the most important matters of the discussions and negotiations was to have the blessings of Dale, Kelly, and Rick to come out and to do this. That meant a lot to me.

I owe where I am at today to their support. I truly respect everything that they have done for me, to get me here. I took this job and this offer after some of the words that I got from Dale, encouraging me to take it. So it’s a pretty cool opportunity. I think that we’ve got a lot of cool things that we’re going to accomplish here.

I look forward to driving for someone like Roger, who also has some deep ties with the communities that we’re from in Detroit. I feel really good about that. I think that’s going to be pretty cool. And just the whole program in general -- everything is here to win with, and I feel like we can do that.

As you read in your announcement, we’re running full-time in the 12-Cup Car for 2010, starting there. I look forward to that, as well as with plans to still be completely determined as far as sponsorship. But we will be completely competing in the Nationwide side, as well, for a championship. And I feel really good about that, as well. I’m very confident in our efforts to do that. So there are a lot of exciting things happening there.

I think that this is the right decision for me. I have been more than impressed with everything that I saw today here at Penske Racing. And I look forward to building it even stronger.
With that, I’ll turn it over to Tim, and we’ll start some questions.

QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESS

It seems like it’s a perfect match for you, with Roger and his group. Going back to your days racing early in short tracks around the Michigan area, what does this mean for you to be racing now for what we call a home-based team up here, anyway, with Roger in Birmingham and all his links to Detroit? How good does that feel, Brad?

KESELOWSKI: It’s certainly a good feeling. Penske Racing is a powerhouse in the motorsports industry, even outside of the NASCAR world. The accomplishments that they have had in the open-wheel world and so forth just speak volumes for Mr. Penske’s commitment to racing and the motorsports industry in general. So I think that meant a lot to me throughout this process, just how deep that commitment runs.
And then, obviously, the local tie-in with both being from the Detroit community – that just makes it even stronger.

You know, I look at it that there are very few teams or motorsports companies that can say that they have accomplished – I don’t think that there are any that can say that they have accomplished what Penske has in an entire industry, but few can say that they have got the spectrum of accomplishments that he has or anywhere near that, and in so many different forms of racing. It’s something to approach in awe, and with a deep respect and appreciation for everything that he’s done.
I want to be the guy that comes to Penske Racing and gets them their first NASCAR championship. I want to be that guy. For everything that has been accomplished here, that’s the one thing that is missing. And I’m going to put a full effort into being that guy that gets it done.

Tim, Mr. Hendrick had said he knows where Brad is when he needs him. How long-term is this, given hearing that? What are your thoughts on that? And, for Brad, was this really a decision of either waiting and staying at Nationwide, and not having an opportunity with Mr. H.? And then your feeling that you needed to race now?

CINDRIC: For Brad, when you look at it, yes, the Hendrick Organization is the team to beat right now in NASCAR. Obviously, with Brad’s addition to our team and that type of thing, we’re hoping that, sometime in the future, that can come our way a bit more often.

But, for us, we’re not going to comment on contracts and how long they are and all that. I can tell you that Brad has given us every indication that he is committed to this decision and committed to making it work here.

When you look at it from the outside, he is taking a big chance. He’s taking a big risk. And I’m not aware of any promises to go back or to have him back. And, obviously, Rick and Dale, Jr. and those kinds of guys respect what he has done. And we’re fortunate to have him here today.

KESELOWSKI: My intent is to come to Penske Racing and to build a home for the long-term future of my career. That’s my full intent, is to be successful and to accomplish those things.
There are very few teams at this level that have the resources to compete with Hendrick Motorsports, and this is one of them. And in the decision-making process that I went through, it became fairly evident that, no matter what route I went down, I was going to have to build a team.

And building a team is more than just building cars or buying transporters, war wagons, or pit boxes. It’s about people, and it’s about putting the right people together and gelling and the chemistry that comes with that. No matter what route I went down, it became obvious that I was going to have to build that team. And this seemed like the best place to do that. That was a major part of the component. All of the resources are here; it’s just a matter of building that chemistry and bonding with the right people to make it all happen. And I think that can be done here.
I look at it that I’ve said all along that I wanted to run full-time in both the Nationwide and the Cup levels. I feel that there is still an advantage to be had there, even with the changes in car models and so forth. But they gave me the opportunity here – Mr. Penske did – to do that.

And I think that is really important for me because I look at the Nationwide level as a way for me to build up my sea legs here at Penske Racing. And that might be the place where that first championship comes for them, on the NASCAR level. And, certainly, the goal is still to do it on the Cup level – don’t get me wrong.

But it’s a good foundation to set and a good way of training and building people and chemistry from the ground floor up. And he was able to offer me that. So full-time on both levels is something that I am very excited about.

As far as staying at Junior Motorsports goes, there was a conversation, that I had with Dale that I am quite sure that he doesn’t mind me sharing with you, where we discussed that matter. He was actually one of the people that pushed me fairly hard to take this deal, as surprising as that might be to some people or some of the fans or media.

He brought out one of the good points that stuck with me when I made this decision, which, like I said earlier was one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to make in my life – and that was, when you have the opportunity to grow and to take on new challenges, and you’re capable of conquering those challenges, you need to take it. And you need to grow when you have the opportunity to grow, not only in your career but as a person. And this is a great opportunity for me to grow, and that’s where we’re at.

Tim, can you say whether Brad will be in the car at all this year for you?

And coming there, as well, can you talk about David Stremme? Do you have any plans for him, for next year?

And just to clarify, do you plan on running two full-time teams in Nationwide next year, one for Justin and one for Brad?

CINDRIC: Yes, I’ll try to remember all those. In terms of what our plans are for the remainder of this year, right now, our plans are for David to continue driving the 12 Car.

And, for next year, obviously, Brad will go into the 12 Car and run full season next year.

As far as Justin and Brad in the Nationwide Series, yes, we plan to run a two-car Nationwide season full-time with those two drivers next year.

Is Stremme kind of a free agent now for next year? Is there still a place for him with you guys?

CINDRIC: Yes, obviously, we have obligations to David. And we will fulfill those obligations with him. And we are working through what is the best step for his career and working through how we can be there to help him with that.

Obviously, with this announcement, we have told him that we would like him to explore what opportunities are there for him and come back to us with what is the best way for us to be able to help him to go forward.

Brad, how do you feel this will impact the rest of your season? Do you feel like you’ll have a big relief? Or do you feel even more pressure now that you have Penske ahead of you?

KESELOWSKI: You know, going back to how I woke up this morning, I feel like a lot of weight has been lifted off of my shoulder. It’s been a lot to carry around for the last few months. It’s not that this decision was made months ago, but the process of making it can be rather difficult, especially in the middle of a racing season.

I’m proud of the fact that we were able to win races with the Junior Motorsports Team while going through this process. That wasn’t easy. That was quite an accomplishment.

So, no, I feel a huge relief. I’m ready to dig my hands in deep in the dirt and get this deal going, and get it working, get it up front, and get it winning races, and building that Nationwide team from the ground up, and finding the top caliber of talent out there to work around me and work on that team.

And then even to have a teammate like Justin in the Nationwide Series is exciting. And to have Kurt on the Cup level – I mean, he’s a champion. That’s pretty cool. I’ll have a champion teammate like I had over at Hendrick. And then there is Sam, who continues to grow. I think that he’s made a lot of progress. I think that working with those two – Kurt and Sam (ph) – for sure, is going to be a great opportunity for me.

Brad, are you going to start lobbying NASCAR now to re-institute some testing for next year? And how would you guys handle if the moratorium on testing continues?

KESELOWSKI: I would be all for the testing ban to be lifted, for sure, in my situation. NASCAR seems to have a stance on that, that they’re sticking with, and I can respect that. But this car is very difficult.

I told somebody the other day that the COT car is, I feel like, the hardest racecar to drive in all of racing. It changes from left to right so quickly. I’m in. It’s just very difficult to drive, so, certainly, any testing that I could get in it, the better preparation that I’m going to have.

So, yes, I would certainly be for them lifting the testing ban. But it’s ultimately not my decision; it’s NASCAR’s. I’ll probably drop in a few lines when I get a chance the next time I see them.

Brad, can you kind of take us through the process of where -- after I guess it was early in May when you said that you wanted to stay with Hendrick Motorsports if at all possible – you saw that and it became clear that you couldn’t do that, and how that turned to Penske?

KESELOWSKI: Well, it kind of starts off with a year ago, actually, when I first met with Mr. Penske. And I’m sure that I didn’t deny that at the time, when it came out. That’s really where the relationship started. I felt pretty confident that there were opportunities here for the 2010 Season. And I wasn’t quite sure if that was going to be with another team or not as far as a fourth team or not. So it was kind of up in the air, but I knew that there were some opportunities that weren’t specific.

We worked through the things with Mr. Hendrick. It just didn’t work out. There were some opportunities. And, again, I don’t want to get into some of the confidential conversations that were with individual teams or people, but we went through the process -- I guess it was after winning Talladega – of negotiating exclusively. He asked for a couple of months, and, certainly, I felt obliged to give that to them. And all the while, Mr. Penske was extremely patient and understood completely my loyalty to the Hendrick Camp and how they had gotten me to where I am.
He just sat there patiently and told me to let him know if and when, whichever path I went down. Then, over the course of the last month before this, opportunities started to not come to fruition. I think that we could see it from both sides. And we talked about it, and Mr. Hendrick said that he would keep working on different scenarios. And he did. He worked as hard as he could.

He told me something that I thought was pretty interesting, that he worked much harder on my deal than he ever had to work on Jimmy or Jeff’s or any of them, in trying to find a way to keep me in the camp. But it became obvious that it was just not in the cards. There were just too many things going against us with the team limit and so forth.

This opportunity was sitting there. And I knew that it was of the same resources and so forth. And, like I said before, I was going to have to build a new team anyway. I was going to have to work with different people. So this was an opportunity with an established team, with all of the resources to get going and get underway.

Even looking at this year and the Cup career that I have had to date, one of my biggest struggles has been that I’m not running full-time on the Cup level. And you’re not locked in to points, etcetera. And the set-ups in the cars change so quickly that I had never driven the same set-up more than once. And to go with that, I have run 10 Cup races now, and I’m on my fifth Crew Chief.

So it’s just really hard to build any continuity as a driver going through all of that. And I feel like, for me to take it to the next level, I need to run full-time with a team of the caliber of Penske Racing.

Brad, how instrumental was the success that Penske has enjoyed this season in Cup, particularly the resurgence of the Number Two guys? How instrumental was that in your decision to go in that direction?

KESELOWSKI: Well, there were a lot of factors. And, certainly, that played into it. I’ll tell you what – I came to this shop a year ago and looked around. And I came back about two weeks ago, a week ago, something like that and looked around, and it’s a completely different feel, a completely different vibe.
This whole company is on the upswing. You can see it and you can feel it. And I feel like I’m jumping on the ship at the right time, so to speak. Everything is here to get the job done. And the performance is certainly a key part.

But the sponsorships are there with partners like Verizon, Mobil, Avis, Dodge. Those are all the partners that can get the job done, to keep the team funded. The resources are here.
And the performance to date has really excelled. I was bragging them up the other day. I was walking through here and noticed that the last few times that I have been around the racecars that they seem to pull a car length on me at the end of the straightaway.

So I see a lot of good things that show promise and signs of hope. Like I said, I feel like I’m getting on the ship. It’s on the upswing – this whole program is. I feel like I’m timing it just right. The performance is certainly a good indicator of that. But it’s more than just that; it’s seeing things that I have seen lately that show me that.

Just to follow, how difficult or easy do you anticipate it being to remain focused on trying to win a Nationwide Series championship this year, given the news of today?

KESELOWSKI: The hardest part was the negotiations process. And, like I said, we were able to win races while going through that process.

Now that the actual announcement is out, I really feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So I don’t see that being a major challenge any more than it has been to date. Obviously, Kyle and Carl are strong performers over there and strong drivers, so that’s not going to be easy by any means. But I don’t see it getting any harder.

We had conversations with the Team about it. And I told all my team last week that I was going this route. So they all knew. Today was no surprise to them. That was important to me, as well, because Junior Motorsports was more than just my team. It still is to this date a home of mine, and I had lots of friends over there. And I wanted to make sure that everything was on the up and up. I feel like it is. I feel like we are going to give it all we’ve got to finish the job off in 2009 and to win some more races and compete for that championship.

Brad, it was only a few years ago that I was talking to you, sitting on a wall at Talladega just before an ARCA race, and you had no ride for the next race. You’ve come a long way in a very fast pace. What do you attribute, do you think, to that fast rise? Do you have a comment? Did you see any of it coming?

KESELOWSKI: To comment on the fast rise, I think that it was anything but that. I think that most of the media just didn’t see the first few years of my career. That was kind of a blessing in disguise because I was able to grow as a racecar driver and a person, without any pressure from the outside world.
And just over the last about two years now since I signed with Junior Motorsports did I really start to get the attention of the media. And by the time that I started to get the attention of the media, I had already laid down a solid foundation of how to compete at this level, and learned a lot of the key ingredients to what it would take to do that. It seemed like it lined up perfectly.
So I think that is probably the biggest thing, is that it really hasn’t been a fast rise as much as the media has only caught onto it in the last year or two. It’s been a good ride, that’s for sure. As far as seeing it coming, I try not to look that far into the future. But I felt pretty confident that aligning myself with someone like Dale and Kelly on the Nationwide, and Cup level with Rick supporting that deal that we could be successful, and we have. That has been good.

Going into Atlanta, a lot of drivers seem to favor the Atlanta track. Could you comment on it? Is it one of your favorites? What do you like? Why do you think that everybody likes it so well?

KESELOWSKI: Certainly, Atlanta is a great racetrack. I have run good there every time that I have gone there. I think that Lee (ph) is on here somewhere, but I told the story that that is actually the track that I feel like got me to ride with Dale and how strong of a performance that I was able to have there. So that holds a place near and dear to my heart.

The way that you drive a racecar there is just incredible. It just takes your breath away how fast and out of control you are. So I have an appreciation for that because, at some level, you still have to be able to scare yourself to enjoy this, and Atlanta has that ability. It’s fast and it’s intimidating. Those are the tracks that I run the best at.

With this move, looking ahead to next year and beyond, in your drive lineup, you don’t have anybody over 32 years old. It’s certainly a young lineup. What does that mean for the Organization? Also, how might this be able to help you move up to a four-car Cup operation down the road?

CINDRIC: I think that, as you look at it, we’ve certainly put an emphasis in the last year or so in trying to make sure that we are dealing with the present, number one. So we knew that, before you can deal with the future, you have to make sure that you have a future. So we needed to be sure that we got our Cup Program and our guys back on track.

I think that we’re in a very good situation, but we’re not where we need to be. We need to make sure that we’ve got more than one guy running up at the front, challenging for the chase.
By bringing Brad onboard, we’ve got a multi-year agreement with Brad. I needed to try and clear that up because I didn’t think that I answered that question completely. So we’ve got a multi-year agreement with Brad. He is going to be part of our future.

We felt like, with Sam, all indications were that it was going to take three years to bring someone into the Cup Program with the testing restrictions as they are, to where they were challenging for the chase. And when we look at Montoya, he’s really our gauge for where Sam’s career should be. You know, you’ve got an accomplished guy outside of the Cup Series. And, this year, he’s challenging for the chase in his third full season. And, last year, I think he finished twenty-fifth in the points or somewhere around there. So I think that Sam is on track to be that guy, as well.
I think that Brad is going to hit the ground running.

Last year, we decided that we really needed to start building some guys for the future, to where we’ve got a solid group coming forward. I think that you see that with Justin Allgaier and the Nationwide Program, and Parker Kliggerman there in the ARCA Program. We just signed another kid – Dakota Armstrong – to pick up where Parker has been in the ARCA (ph) Program as far as the Development Driver.
So we are trying to make sure that we build for the future. But the main thing is to make sure that we are competitive at the highest level.

With the four-car operation, is that something that you feel like you could do within a couple of years, then, depending on how your present goes?

CINDRIC: To be honest with you, we were hoping that we were a four-car organization going into 2010. As Brad said, as we were sitting here a year ago, after we ran a couple of years with three cars, we were hoping that four cars were in our future for 2010. But we only wanted to do that when we knew that we had a solid run with the guys that we had. And to add another car for the sake of adding a car probably isn’t the right move for us at this point. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got more than one guy up there challenging for the chase. So when we feel like we have that, I think that the rest of the things start to come in place.
If you’re running with two or three guys challenging for the chase, then you’ve got a lot better opportunity at a track than the right type of people and the right type of partners to get you a fourth car. That’s ultimately where we want to be, yes.

Is the sponsorship for the 12 – is that still going to be essentially kind of a Verizon-type deal? Will this be known as the Number 12 Penske Dodge type of thing with Brad next year? How is that going to work?

CINDRIC: Yes, certainly, our partnership with Verizon continues. We certainly don’t foresee that changing. Obviously, you’re always looking to bring on new partners as you go forward. But we have had a great relationship with them and hope that continues well into the future.

Brad, you have run for the family in your early years. I’m wondering how my Bob and Kay , your parents, had perhaps in influencing you in talking to you about what you should do in 2010, in giving you some advice.

And where would you place today’s announcement? You’ve won a Talladega, a Cup, you’ve won at MIS in a Nationwide car only last month, and now this. Does this rank bigger than those previous two?

KESELOWSKI: My family was a part of making this decision, for sure. One of the many parts – there are a lot of pieces to make in this decision, whether that was having the blessing of Dale and Kelly (ph) or having the support of my friends and family. There were a lot of pieces to this decision. It was one that took a lot of time, really, for me to make.

From their end, they influenced it, for sure, and helped me really see it from a different perspective, which is really neat. You need to look at it from all different angles. It’s probably hard for a lot of people to see it from all different angles. But I certainly got a good chance to do that with their support. I think that they’re really excited for me.

For them, obviously, Penske holds a very large name and reputation because they have lived in Michigan much longer than I have, obviously, because they’re older. And they know what it means to drive for Penske Racing and what an accomplishment that is.

Looking back at my career and as far as how this ranks, just to think that I have the opportunity to do this at the Cup level is a great opportunity. And then to be able to say that I have the ability to compete at the Cup level with Penske Racing is quite another notch up.

It’s hard to rank things in your life. But I think that, ultimately, when we win that first race, it will soak in, but, at this point, it hasn’t. So I will let time be the judge when we have managed to make those accomplishments that I think that we can do. But this is going to be right up there, that’s for sure.


Brad, how hard is it to walk away from the person that gave you a shot?

KESELOWSKI: That was the hardest part, without a doubt. The hardest part was leaving Junior Motorsports. But what made it easier for me was to have Dale’s blessing to do it. Without it, that would have been much harder to do.

Dale, make no mistake, is the one that was the catalyst for my career and the one who called me up and said he believed in me even though other people, even within his company, didn’t. He’s the one who took the risk, both financially and with his reputation, to put me in that car. I am eternally grateful to him for that. Together, we built a great program that both of us had been struggling separately. And, together, we got together and built a program that is something to be proud of.

I’ll tell you what – I’m really looking forward to seeing the next guy that gets in that car have the same opportunity that I had, and to seeing that car be a Driver Development car, to where other drivers that were in my shoes two years ago have the same opportunity and are able to compete with a team that is ready to win. That is exciting to me. I’m happy for them to be able to do that for other drivers and to give them those opportunities. So that meant a lot to me and helped me a little bit with the decision.

But mostly, having Dale’s blessing and having his support – like I said, he pushed as hard for me to do this as anyone in my family or any other friends that I had did.

Brad – how difficult do you think that it will be? A lot of people are saying, “Well, wait until he gets in a Cup car over there, and he’s got to compete against these Cup guys.” You’ve got all the talent in the world, but it’s sort of a different world. How much have you thought about that? How difficult do you think it will be?

KESELOWSKI: To be honest, I think that it will get easier once you start competing at the full-time level. Right now, I was competing part-time. With no points, I spend qualifying day – literally, you don’t eat. You’re just nervous as can be. So, if anything, I would think that it will get easier running full-time, being locked in, and building continuity with a group or a team with a crew chief and car chief, and everyone that is on that team. I think that it will get easier competing full-time.
And then building that database of knowledge of not only just knowing what the other drivers are going to do and how they race you, but knowing how the cars react and so forth – I think that it gets easier as you run full-time and build that experience and that reputation. And that is kind of how I look for it to go.
But it’s still not going to be easy. There is a lot of good competition over there. The Cup world, in my opinion, has the best drivers in the world. We’ve got our work cut out for us. I know that. But, as I said before, I feel like this company – Penske Racing – has the ability to get the job done.

Do you guys know – is Roy going to be Brad’s Crew Chief, or is that still to be determined?

CINDRIC: Right now, it’s obviously early days. And to be honest, Brad hasn’t even sat down with Roy or anybody else from our Organization, aside from Michael and I. He is certainly a guy that we value in our Organization. We are going to approach it the same way that we have approached it in the past with any change that we have made. We are big believers in the chemistry in the Team is very important. And we’re going to sit down. And I am sure that Brad will spend some time with Roy , and we’ll spend some time trying to decide what the right approach is for next year.

So anytime that you make a change like this, whether it’s on this car or any other car in our Organization, I think that we look it as a major change in variables, being the driver. We approached it the same way when David came onboard. And we will go through that same process again.

Brad, I’m not sure if you still live on Junior’s property; but, if you do, are you going to have to move out? Are you going to have to spend all your money on converting your trucks to Dodges?

KESELOWSKI: As far as moving out, no, we talked about that a little bit, to be honest. I still live there, yes. I got my little townhouse that I spend about one day a week in, which, for the rest of the week, I seem to be on the road lately handling either racing or sponsor commitments. But no, he’s been pretty cool about it.

Like I said, he is one of my biggest supporters of doing this decision. So that made me feel good about it. And, no, I don’t think that I have to worry about it. I think that, if anything, we might grow to be better friends yet because we don’t have to ever worry about the business relationship. So that will be interesting to see. But, no, I feel like I’m going to be all right.
As far as what I’ve got going on on the truck side, I think that we’ll just have to wait and see how that all works out. I really have just skimmed the top of that. So time will tell on that.